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Logical fallacies
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Language and ambiguity
Logical fallacy
Etymological fallacy
Occasional
#69 of 71 by how common
← All logical fallacies
What it is
Argues that a word's present meaning must be its original or "true" meaning.
Example
"'Decimate' can only mean to kill one in ten."
Related
Appeal to tradition
fallacy
Insisting on a word's old meaning appeals to the authority of its origin.
Genetic fallacy
fallacy
The etymological fallacy is a genetic fallacy about words: meaning is judged by origin.
References
Wikipedia: Etymological fallacy
en.wikipedia.org
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Fallacies
iep.utm.edu
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Fallacies
plato.stanford.edu
Wikipedia: List of fallacies
en.wikipedia.org
Purdue OWL: Logical fallacies
owl.purdue.edu
More in “Language and ambiguity”
Equivocation
Weasel words
Reification
Amphiboly